Popular Downtown Barbeque Restaurant Temporarily Closes Due To Extreme Heat

A popular downtown barbeque spot is closing for a few days to protect its employees from the extreme heat.

Alley Cat Ranch operates out of a food truck and owners want to keep employees protected. 

At lunchtime, pitmaster Nick Corcoran and the rest of the team are usually prepping for crowds as folks are line up outside Alley Cat Ranch barbeque.  

But with temperatures soaring, managers decided to give employees time to cool off.

As you can imagine, burning a grill isn't ideal during this heat wave. 

"The working conditions on the truck continue to get hotter and hotter and we did everything in our power to combat that with cold towels and fans, but we just couldn't keep up," Printer said.  

VP of operations Tom Printer says after visiting the truck to check on his employees, he decided to put their well-being over the sake of the business. 

"When we opened up in March it was great coming into the spring and we were wearing jackets and coats and over time it turned into cut-off shorts and t-shirts," Printer said.  

Printer says these temperatures can make the truck feel like 120 degrees and there's no way to escape that heat.  

"No amount of money is worth the health of our employees. We’ll open next week when the temperatures drop,” Printer said.  

He says with a business like that someone is always checking on the brisket and ribs which puts them directly in the heat.  

"It's very labor intensive you're constantly opening the grill, you're moving things around, you're bending over, taking stuff inside, going outside. It just doesn't stop," Printer said.  

Management says they will continue to monitor the heat before they fire up the pit. 

"As sad as we are to be closed down for a few days. It's something that we feel is necessary for the safety of our employees," Printer said.  

Printer says people can continue checking Alley Cat Ranch barbecue's social media for when they open back up.